Dwayne John Bravo (born 7 October 1983) is a Trinidadian retired

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

er, a former captain of the West Indies cricket team and the current mentor of

Kolkata Knight Riders The Kolkata Knight Riders, also known as KKR, are a professional Twenty20 cricket team based in Kolkata, West Bengal, that competes in the Indian Premier League (IPL). The franchise is owned by actor Shah Rukh Khan, actress Juhi Chawla, and ...

in the

Indian Premier League The Indian Premier League (IPL) is a professional Twenty20 (T20) cricket league in India, organised by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). Founded in 2007, it features ten city-based Professional sports league organization, fr ...

. Prior to that, he served as a bowling coach of

Chennai Super Kings The Chennai Super Kings, also known as CSK, are a professional Twenty20 cricket team based in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, that competes in the Indian Premier League (IPL). The team was one of the eight debut franchises when the league was establ ...

in the IPL for the 2023 and 2024 seasons and also served as a bowling consultant of Afghanistan team for the 2024 T20 World Cup. A right-arm seam bowling

all-rounder An all-rounder is a cricketer who regularly performs well at both batting and bowling. Although all bowlers must bat and quite a handful of batsmen do bowl occasionally, most players are skilled in only one of the two disciplines and are cons ...

, Bravo was well known for his aggressive lower-order batting and for his bowling in the final overs of a match. During his prime, he was regarded as one of the best death bowlers in T20 cricket. He also performs as a singer. Between 2004 and 2021, Bravo represented in 40 Test matches, 164 ODI matches and 91 T20I matches for the West Indies. He was a key member of the West Indies team that won the

2004 ICC Champions Trophy The 2004 ICC Champions Trophy was held in England in September 2004. Twelve teams competed in 15 matches spread over 16 days at three venues: Edgbaston Cricket Ground, Edgbaston, Rose Bowl (cricket ground), The Rose Bowl and The Oval. The nation ...

, the

2012 ICC World Twenty20 The 2012 ICC World Twenty20 was the fourth edition of the Men's T20 World Cup, formerly known as the ICC World Twenty20, an international Twenty20 International, Twenty20 cricket tournament that took place in Sri Lanka from 18 September to 7 O ...

(where he took the winning catch), and the 2016 ICC World Twenty20. After initially announcing his retirement from international cricket in October 2018, he came out of retirement in December 2019 in preparation for the 2020 T20 World Cup. In domestic cricket, Bravo has played for his native

Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago, officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean, comprising the main islands of Trinidad and Tobago, along with several List of islands of Trinidad and Tobago, smaller i ...

since 2002. He played for a number of other teams in leagues around the world until his retirement in September 2024.

Early career

Bravo made his first-class debut for

against

Barbados Barbados, officially the Republic of Barbados, is an island country in the Atlantic Ocean. It is part of the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies and the easternmost island of the Caribbean region. It lies on the boundary of the South American ...

in 2002, opening the innings and scoring 15 and 16 but not bowling. He scored his maiden first-class century a month later and was included in the West Indies A squad for their tour of England in 2002. In early 2003 he scored another century but it was a spell of bowling in which he took 6–11 against the Windward Islands that brought him to prominence as an all-rounder.

International career

Bravo made his

One Day International One Day International (ODI) is a format of cricket, played between two teams with international status, in which each team faces a fixed number of fifty overs, with the game lasting up to 7 hours. The World Cup, generally held every four yea ...

debut against England in their 2003/04 tour of the

Caribbean The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...

, in a match in which he failed to bat but took 2–31 with the ball. In the West Indies tour of

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

in 2004 Bravo made his

Test Test(s), testing, or TEST may refer to: * Test (assessment), an educational assessment intended to measure the respondents' knowledge or other abilities Arts and entertainment * ''Test'' (2013 film), an American film * ''Test'' (2014 film) ...

debut when he was selected for the First Test at

Lord's Lord's Cricket Ground, commonly known as Lord's, is a cricket List of Test cricket grounds, venue in St John's Wood, Westminster. Named after its founder, Thomas Lord, it is owned by Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) and is the home of Middlesex C ...

in which he scored 44 and 10 and took three wickets. He finished the Test series with 16 wickets and a total of 220 runs with his most impressive performance at

Old Trafford Old Trafford () is a football stadium in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, and is the home of Manchester United. With a capacity of 74,197, it is the largest club football stadium (and second-largest football stadium overall after W ...

in a match in which he was the top scorer in the first innings with 77 followed by an 6 for 55 performance with the ball. The latter remains his best bowling figures in Test cricket. During a Test series against

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

in 2005, Bravo scored his maiden century – 107 before getting out to Mark Boucher – in the fourth Test in Antigua, but that was overshadowed when he accused South African

Graeme Smith Graeme Craig Smith (born 1 February 1981) is a South African cricket commentator and former cricketer who played for South Africa national cricket team, South Africa in all formats. In 2003, he was appointed Captain (cricket), captain of the So ...

of directing a racist comment at him. At the subsequent hearing no evidence could be found and charges were dropped against Smith, who immediately demanded an apology from Bravo. Bravo, backed by the

West Indies Cricket Board Cricket West Indies (CWI) is the governing body for cricket in the West Indies (a sporting confederation of over a dozen mainly Commonwealth Caribbean, English-speaking Caribbean countries and dependencies that once formed the British West Ind ...

, refused to do so and received a hail of criticism from an indignant South African press while finding support at home as a human rights campaigner.

Years through injuries

On the West Indies tour of Australia in 2005, Bravo was controversially not picked for the first Test at

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

in which the West Indies were beaten convincingly. He was recalled for the second Test in

Hobart Hobart ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the island state of Tasmania, Australia. Located in Tasmania's south-east on the estuary of the River Derwent, it is the southernmost capital city in Australia. Despite containing nearly hal ...

and made a superb 113, after coming in at a very difficult stage for the West Indies. His innings lifted the West Indies and helped them regain some pride, forcing the Australians to bat for a second time in the match. In the third and final match of the series at

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

, he bowled a superb spell in the Australians first innings taking 6 for 84. In West Indies tour of New Zealand in early 2006 Bravo strained his left side in the Twenty20 game at the start of the tour and was unable to bowl but still played in all three tests as a specialist batsman. His selection showed how far he had come in the previous two years and how crucial he had become to the West Indies team.

Comeback in 2006

After a disappointing series in

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

Bravo returned to top form in the ICC Champions Trophy 2006 when he took 7 wickets at an average of 27.57 and scored 164 runs at an average of 41 although most of the runs were scored in a dead rubber match with England in which he made his first ever ODI century scoring a majestic 112 not out as part of a second wicket stand of 174 with Chris Gayle. His bowling contained some lethal slower-paced yorkers with which he dismissed Michael Clarke and Chris Read. During the Third Test against

on 9 June 2007, Bravo acted as an emergency wicket-keeper in place of Denesh Ramdin who had gone off for treatment after being hit on the head with the ball. In the same Test he took the wicket of England batsman

Kevin Pietersen Kevin Peter Pietersen (born 27 June 1980) is a former England international cricketer. He is regarded as one of the greatest England batsmen to have played the game, and renowned for his competitive, and often controversial nature. He was a ri ...

with a bouncer which struck the batsman's helmet knocking the helmet off of his head onto the stumps and dislodging the bails causing Pietersen to be given out hit wicket.

World Cups

Bravo played in all of West Indies games at the

2007 Cricket World Cup The 2007 ICC Cricket World Cup was the ninth Cricket World Cup, a One Day International (ODI) cricket tournament that took place in the West Indies from 13 March to 28 April 2007. There were a total of 51 matches played, three fewer than at the 2 ...

in the West Indies. He had a disappointing World Cup scoring 129 runs at an average of 21.50 and although he took 13 wickets at 27.76 his economy rate was 5.56. Against South Africa he conceded 69 runs off 7 overs including 18 off his first over. He played in all West Indies games at the 2009 T20I World Cup and was named in the 'Team of the Tournament' by ESPNcricinfo for the 2009 T20I World Cup. He was ruled out from the

2011 Cricket World Cup The 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup was the tenth Cricket World Cup. It was played in India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, while the latter hosted World Cup matches for the first time. India won the tournament, defeating Sri Lanka by six wickets in the 2 ...

in India due to the knee injury when he slipped at the wicket while bowling to South African batsman on 24 February 2011 at Delhi. He was rested for four weeks and could not participate further in the tournament. He played in all of West Indies games at the

in Sri Lanka, which the West Indies won. He played most of the tournament as a batsman as injury prevented him from bowling. For his performances in 2012, he was named in the T20I XI of the year by ESPNcricinfo. In 2014, during a tour of India, Bravo was spokesman for the players during players strike which resulted in the tour being cancelled half way. He was later omitted from the West Indies World Cup squad for the

2015 Cricket World Cup The 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup was the 11th Cricket World Cup, a quadrennial One Day International (ODI) cricket tournament contested by men's national teams and organised by the International Cricket Council (ICC). It was jointly hosted by Aust ...

in Australia and New Zealand. The West Indies struggled in his absence, especially in the bowling department. He then played in all of West Indies games at the 2016 ICC World Twenty20 in India, which the West Indies won. His high quality death bowling is considered to be one of the main reasons that the West Indies won the title. He was named in the 'Team of the Tournament' by Cricbuzz. In May 2019,

Cricket West Indies Cricket West Indies (CWI) is the governing body for cricket in the West Indies (a sporting confederation of over a dozen mainly Commonwealth Caribbean, English-speaking Caribbean countries and dependencies that once formed the British West Ind ...

(CWI) named him as one of ten reserve players in the West Indies' squad for the

2019 Cricket World Cup The 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup was the 12th Cricket World Cup, a quadrennial One Day International (ODI) cricket tournament contested by men's national teams and organised by the International Cricket Council (ICC). The tournament was hosted bet ...

Retirement and another comeback

On 31 January 2015, Bravo announced his retirement from Test cricket. In October 2018, he announced his retirement from international cricket in all formats but will continue to play franchise T20 cricket. In December 2019, Bravo came out of international retirement in preparation for the 2020 T20 World Cup. In September 2021, Bravo was named in the West Indies' squad for the 2021 ICC Men's T20 World Cup. On 6 November 2021, Bravo retired from international cricket and played his last T20I match against

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

in the Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium. He continued to play league cricket across the globe and finally announced his retirement from all forms of cricket on 27 September 2024.

T20 Franchise career

Indian Premier League

Dwayne Bravo played for the

Mumbai Indians The Mumbai Indians are a professional Twenty20, Twenty20 cricket team based in Mumbai, Maharashtra, that competes in the Indian Premier League (IPL). The Indians were founded in 2008 and are owned by India's largest Conglomerate (company), co ...

in the

for the first three seasons. He was picked up by the

during 2011 IPL Auctions. He was one of the top performing players in the 2012 IPL playing for

scoring 371 runs at an average of 46.38 with a strike rate of 140. He also performed well in the 2013 IPL playing for

, taking 32 wickets at an average of 9.15 to win the Purple Cap and overthrow Albie Morkel to become Chennai Super Kings's leading wicket taker. During IPL 2014 he sustained a shoulder injury in the first match against Kings XI Punjab and was subsequently ruled out of the remaining matches. He launched his music single "Chalo Chalo" in Chennai on 3 May 2015. He performed well in the 2015 IPL playing for

, taking 26 wickets and winning the purple cap for a second time. He is one of the two men who have won 2 purple caps. On the occasion of the 10-year anniversary of IPL, he was also named in the all-time ESPNcricinfo IPL XI After the suspension of

for 2 years, he was bought by Gujarat Lions. Later in 2018 IPL he was retained for 64.0 million by

again. In

2019 IPL The 2019 Indian Premier League season (also known as IPL 12) was the twelfth season of the Indian Premier League, a professional Twenty20 cricket league established by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) in 2007. At one point othe ...

too, he was again retained by Chennai Super Kings. He didn't put up a very good performance that year, but he impressed with his tight bowling in the death overs. The following season while playing for Chennai, Bravo suffered a groin injury which ruled him out of the back end of the tournament. In the 2022 IPL Auction, Dwayne was bought by the Chennai Super Kings for ₹4.40 crores. On 2 Dec 2022, he announced his retirement from IPL, and subsequently replaced Lakshmipathy Balaji as the bowling coach of the same franchise. In 3 years time, he switched and signed as mentor for Kolkata Knight Riders in IPL 2025, while he was associated with the Trinbago Knight Riders in CPL 2024, the last tournament he played before announcing the retirement. Bravo is the leading wicket taker in the Indian Premier League, with 183 wickets. He holds the joint-record for most wickets in a single edition of the league, taking 32 wickets in 2013. The record was later equaled by

Harshal Patel Harshal Patel (born 23 November 1990) is an Indian cricketer who has played for the country's national team in Twenty20 internationals (T20I). A right-arm medium pace bowler who bats right-handed, Patel made his T20I debut against New Zealand ...

in 2021. He became the first player to win Purple Cap twice, for taking the most wickets in 2013 and 2015.

Pakistan Super League

In 2016 PSL draft, Bravo was picked by Lahore Qalandars in 2016 draft for US$70,000. His team finished last and were disqualified. He also captained the side in the absence of regular captain Azhar Ali. He was retained by Qalandars for 2017 Season but he didn't play in the second season. Dwayne Bravo signed with Peshawar Zalmi in 2018 draft. In 2019 draft he signed with Quetta Gladiators. His team won the tournament for the first time, defeating Peshawar Zalmi in the final.

Other T20 franchises

In May 2018, he was named as one of the ten marquee players for the first edition of the Global T20 Canada cricket tournament. On 3 June 2018, he was selected to play for the Winnipeg Hawks in the players' draft for the inaugural edition of the tournament. In October 2018, he was named in Paarl Rocks' squad for the first edition of the

Mzansi Super League The Mzansi Super League (MSL) was a Twenty20 cricket (T20) franchise league held in South Africa. The competition was established in 2018 by Cricket South Africa (CSA) as a replacement for the failed T20 Global League, but only two editions wer ...

T20 tournament. He was the joint-leading wicket-taker for the team in the tournament, with ten dismissals in six matches. In June 2019, he was selected to play for the Winnipeg Hawks franchise team in the 2019 Global T20 Canada tournament. In July 2020, he was named in the Trinbago Knight Riders squad for the 2020 Caribbean Premier League. On 26 August 2020, in the match against the St Lucia Zouks, Bravo became the first bowler to take 500 wickets in T20 cricket, and the first bowler to take 100 wickets in the CPL. In April 2022, he was bought by the Northern Superchargers for the 2022 season of The Hundred in England. In June 2023, Bravo was selected to play for the Texas Super Kings for the inaugural season of

Major League Cricket Major League Cricket (MLC) is a professional Twenty20 (T20) cricket league in the United States organized by American Cricket Enterprises (ACE) and sanctioned by USA Cricket. Founded in 2023, the league operates as a single entity consisting of ...

. He only appeared in four matches due to an injury, but still managed the second highest average of 68 for the season, scoring 136 runs.

Other work

In 2016, Bravo released his first single ''Champion'' to commemorate West Indies winning the 2016 World T20. The single became a runaway hit in India, topping charts. The release led to rumours of Bravo acting in Bollywood. He responded by saying, "Jashoda Madhavji from my team is working on it and given her expertise, a film may just happen. I have been getting offers, but I need to find something that brings out the actor in me and fans can relate to Bravo, the actor, just as they have related to Bravo, the singer."

Notes

References

External links

Official Website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bravo, Dwayne 1983 births Living people West Indies Twenty20 International cricketers West Indies One Day International cricketers West Indies Test cricketers West Indies Test cricket captains Cricketers at the 2007 Cricket World Cup Cricketers at the 2011 Cricket World Cup Fortune Barishal cricketers Chennai Super Kings cricketers Trinidad and Tobago expatriate cricketers in India Chattogram Challengers cricketers Trinidad and Tobago expatriate cricketers in Bangladesh Comilla Victorians cricketers Dhaka Dominators cricketers Dolphins (South African cricket team) players Essex cricketers Gujarat Lions cricketers Kent cricketers Lahore Qalandars cricketers Trinidad and Tobago expatriate cricketers in Pakistan Melbourne Renegades cricketers Trinidad and Tobago expatriate cricketers in Australia Melbourne Stars cricketers Middlesex cricketers Mumbai Indians cricketers Northern Superchargers cricketers Trinidad and Tobago expatriate cricketers in England Paarl Rocks cricketers Expatriate cricketers in South Africa Quetta Gladiators cricketers St Kitts and Nevis Patriots cricketers Surrey cricketers Sydney Sixers cricketers Trinidad and Tobago cricketers Trinidad and Tobago cricket captains Trinbago Knight Riders cricketers Victoria cricketers Worcestershire cricketers 21st-century Trinidad and Tobago male singers 21st-century Trinidad and Tobago singers